Method and apparatus for straightening housings



June 25, 1940. A. ARUTUNOFF 2,205,783

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING HOUSINGS Filed Oct. 2l, 1937 2SheLS-Sheet l ATTORNEY June 25, 1940. A. ARUTUNOFF METHOD AND APPARATUSFOR STRAIGHTENING HOUSINGS Filed 001'.. 2l, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented June 25, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEIVIETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING HOUSINGS poration of DelawareApplication October 21, 1937, Serial No. 170,241

7 Claims.

My invention relates to a methodand apparatus for straightening housingsand more particularly to straightening housings: for the electric motorsof deep well pumps.

The electric motors for driving deep well pumps must necessarily be ofcomparatively small cross sectional dimension. In a deep oil well, forexample, 5,000 feet in depth, an electric motor of 100 horsepower isrequired to drive the pump for pumping the fluid out of the well. Inorder to obtain an electric motor of this power, Within the connes of anexternal diameter of less than six inches, it is necessary to make themotor of great length with respect to its diameter.

In a motor of my invention, I have provided a stator comprising aplurality of magnetic and non-magnetic laminations assembled in anelongated housing. The non-magnetic laminations form supports for thebearings of the rotor shaft.y I'he rotor shaft obviously will be ofgreat length and must necessarily be of comparatively small diameter.For example, in a motor producing 100 horsepower, a one andthree-eighths inch rotor shaft is employed of a length of about 20 feet.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that this shaft must besupported at a plurality of places therealong, and unless the bearingsare accurately aligned, the lateral thrust produced by distortions oreccentricity in the alignment of the bearings will soon destroy thebearings.

The problem of straightening a motor housing containing a plurality oflaminations is: no simple one. In order that the motor be efficient, itis necessary that the clearance between the rotor and 'of the stator becomparatively small in order that the smallest possible air gap may beemployed.

It follows, therefore, that, aside from the necessity of accuratealignment occasioned by the bearings,

accurate alignment must be achieved for eiii 4 o ciency of performanceof the motor. In practice,

I employ an air gap of .014 of an inch.

One object of my invention is to provide a novel method of straighteninga motor` housing of great length with respect to its diameter.

5 Another object of my invention is to provide a method for aligning thebearing supports formed by non-magnetic laminations assembled in anelongated housing.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel apparatus forStraightening elongated housings.

Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the followingdescription.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of the instantspecification and are to be read in conjunction therewith and in whichlike reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the variousviews;

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of apparatus containing anembodiment of the ap- 5 paratus of my invention and capable of carryingout the method of my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a portion of a housingcontaining stator laminationsand a bore gauge forming part of the ap-1,0A paratus of my invention.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on a line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of another form of apparatus capable ofcarrying out the method .6 of my invention.

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken on a line 5-5 of Figure 4.

More particularly, referring now to the drawings, an elongated casing Ihouses a plurality of 20 magnetic laminations 2, forming the stator ofan induction motor. Groups of non-magnetic laminations 3 are assembledat a plurality of separated places along the stator. These groups ofnonmagnetic laminations form supports for bearing 25 rings in which therotor shaft bearings are assembled. Each of the laminations 2 isprovided with a plurality of slots I adapted to receive the Winding ofthe stator.

The problem of alignment involves insuring 3:()

that each group of non-magnetic laminations is in alignment with everyother group of non-magnetic laminations. The clearance between thebearing rings and the non-magnetic laminations is only .001 of an inch,while the clearance between the rotor and the magnetic laminations is.O14 of an inch.

The housing to be straightenedis placed upon a pair of supports 5 and B,provided With bearing rollers l and 8. A clamp 9 is tted to one end ofthe housing I, Which clamp is provided with handles III. The housing canbe rotated upon bearing rollers 'I and 8 by means of handles I0.

A bore gauge forming part of my apparatus for use in carrying out themethod of my inveny tion comprises a tubular member II somewhat smallerin diameter than the bore formed` by the assembled laminations. Securedto respective ends of the tubular member are flanges I2 and I3, Whoseexternal diameter is identical with the 5p external diameter of thebearing rings supported by groups of non-magnetic laminations 3. Thedistance between anges l2 and I3 is the distance from one group ofnon-magnetic laminations to a third group of non-magnetic lamina-` tionsremoved` from said first group. A gauge ill is supported by the tubularmember i i at a point intermediate its ends. The gauge is provided witha gauging linger i5, urged outwardly by a spring as is well understoodin the art. One end of the gauge is secured by a pin i@ to a head ll,iormed on the end oi a rod it. The rod it is: provided with an extensioni9 which is secured to an elongated member 20. Member 2&3 is providedwith rollers: 2i and 22 adapted to ride upon the anges 23 of an I-bea1n2G which is supported overhead in any suitable manner. From member 2@ bycross-pieces 24 is supported an electric hammer 23. The arrangement issuch that the electric hammer is directly over the gauging finger l5. Apair oi conductors 25 terminate in respective brushes it engaging busbars 2li and 23 which are supported from the I-beam by insulators 22%.Secured to the ends of member 2U is a chain` Si) passing over pulleys 3iand Pulley 32 is keyed to a shaft 33 which carries a pulley Sli. Pulley34 is provided with means for rotating the same, as for example, a`chain 35. As the chain 35 is pulled, pulley Sli is rotated, which will,in turn, rotate shalt 33 to move member forward and backward on rollers2i and 22. The motion of member 2li will be transmitted through rods i9and i8 to the gauging assembly and` the electric hammer 23 will belikewise moved with the gauge so that it will always be in properposition for the straightening operation which will be hereinafterdescribed. The power for the electric hammer is supplied through a pairof mains Sii and. 3l, current passing from main 35i through bus bar 23,through one brush` 26, through one conductor 25, through the windings ofthe electric hammer motor, through the other conductor 2t, through theother brush 25 to bus, bar 2i through conductor 38, through a iootswitch 39 to the other side of the main line 3l.

Within the member il I mount a small hous- 'ing 38 which carries a drycell 39, adapted to furnish energy for lighting an incandescent lampdil. Incandescent lamp itl is mounted to illuminate the iace il of thegauge ill. A. telescope l2 is focused upon the iace oi the gauge so thatthe operator may read the gauge from one end of the housing.

Secured to the gauging nger iii is a iiexible member it terminating in.a ring lil positioned outside of the bore. When flexible member i3 isplaced under tension, the gauging finger l will be withdrawn fromcontact with the laminations in which the gauging assembly ispositioned.

In operation, referring now to Figure 3, the gauging assembly ispositioned within the bore with flanges i2 and i3 resting upon twogroups of non-magnetic laminations separated by a group of magneticlaminations against which the gauging finger l5 rests. The housing isthen rotated by means of handles iii, the operator observing the face ilof the gauge lli. Let us assume that the housing embraced between thegauging assembly is deflected. As the housing is rotated, the gaugepointer will move back and forth indicating an eccentricity.

Referring now to Figure 2, the gauging assembly is positioned in ahousing which is deiiected downwardly, the construction line i5 in thegure indicating the position which would be occupied by the housing ifit were straight. When the low point is uppermost, the gauge will showthe maximum thrust, that is, the gauging iinger l5 will be movedinwardly through the greatest distance. It is understood that the gaugeis of the type which has a gauging finger urged outwardly by a spring.As the gauging nger is depressed, a pointer upon the gauge faceindicates the extent of depression.

As the housing is rotated, the operator watches the gauging face andknows the maximum thrust of the pointer indicating the point at whichthe nger is depressed to the greatest extent. At this point, theoperator stops rotating the housing with the low point upwardly. At thispoint, the operator closes the switch 39 and operates the electricpeening hammer to peen the metal adjacent the lowest point of thehousing. @ne would think that, in order to straighten a housing, thehammering should take place at the high point. The contrary, however, isthe fact. What happens is that, during the peening, the metal oi thehousing is hammered against the stator laminations, acting as an anvil,by the hammer. The plurality of indentations imparted by the peeninghammer elonga'tes the housing, and the metal tends to warp or elongatelongie tudinally oi the housing. It is understood, of course, that,during the peening, the chain 35 may be moved back and forth slightly,or the handles iii oscillated slightly, or both, so that the peening maybe spread over a slight area adjacent the low point. Prior to closingthe switch the handle M is pulled so that the gauging ringer l5 is movedfrom contact with the bore of the stator during the peening operation.This prevents injury to the gauge. The extent ci peening will varydepending on how great the deflection at the particular point happenedto be. Experience will soon enable an operator to gauge fairlyaccurately the amount of peening necessary. After peening for a shortinterval, the gauge is again read and the housing isagain rotated. Thelow point may now be moved to another point in the housing, though thisis rarely the case. Should this occur, peening is again performed untilan eccentricity of less than .Ooi oi an inch is noted upon the rotationof the housing.

It is understood, of course, that the process may be practiced to anydesired extent, depending upon the limits of accuracy desired. When noeccentricity is indicated on the gauge, `the operator knows that thelaminations contacting the gauge finger i5 are in alignment with thelaminations supporting the anges l2 and i3. In other words, the threegroups of laminations are in alignment. The member til carrying thepeening hammer and the gauge assembly is then advanced so that theflange i3 engages the next set of non-magnetic laminations. The processis then repeated and the next set of laminations is aligned with thethree just preceding. By successively aligning one set of laminationswith the preceding two, the entire housing will be in alignnent. Whilethe drawings show member Il only `wo sections long, longer members areused to check and correct alignment on greater distances .anywhere inthe motor-bore or full length of motor, i. e., ends vs. middle point.

Referring to Figure 4, the apparatus is similar to that shown in Figurel, except that a portable electric peening hammer dii is employed andthe rod it? is provided with calibrations il?. When using apparatusshown in Figure 4, the housing is marked externally with chalk marksindicating the positions at which the non-magnetic laminations appearand the calibrations 4'! will indicate the proper positioning of thegauging assembly.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that I have accomplishedthe objects of my invention. I am enabled to straighten elongatedhousings for electric motors adapted to drive deep well pumps. Thestraightening action is accomplished by elongating the metal of the lowside of the housing, that is, when a housing is deviated or bowed, thepeening takes place upon the concave or low side, in order to elongatethe metal on this side, which elongation of metal straightens thedeviation.

It is to be understood, of course, that I need not necessarily move thegauging member through a distance between the non-magnetic laminations.This mode of operating is cited for purposes of illustration only andnot by way of limitation, as the gauging member may be movedprogressively through short distances and thus eifect` the straighteningof the entire housing in such cases as this is desired.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinaticns are ciutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsub-combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of myclaims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made indetails within the scope of my claims without departing from the spiritof my invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that my invention isnot to be limited to the speciiic details shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l.. A method of straightening a bowed tubular metal housing having awall includin the step of peening the metal of the wall in the vicinityof the concave side ofthe housing to elongate the metal of the wall ofthe housing sufficiently to straighten said housing.

2. A method of straightening an elongated tubuia-r metal housing havinga wall including the steps of successively peening the metal wall ofsaid housing to elongate the metal of the wall of the housing atsuccessive concave places therealong suiiiciently to straighten saidhousing.

3. A. method oi straightening a tubular metal housing having a wallincluding the steps of determining the eccentricity of said housing at apoint between two separated points thereof, peening the metal of thehousing wall only on the concave side of the point oi greatesteccentricity to elongate the housing wall longitudinally whereby toremove said eccentricity and repeating the above step successively at aplurality of separated points along the length of the housing until saidhousing is straight.

4. A method of straightening the metal housing of an elongated electricmotor including the steps of positioning the stator laminations withinsaid housing, determining the point of greatest eccentricity between twoseparated points within said housing and peening the metal of saidhousing wall only upon the concave side thereof adjacent the point ofgreatest eccentricity to spread the metal of said housing walllongitudinally sufiiciently to remove said eccentricity between saidseparated points and straighten said housing.

5. In an apparatus for straightening tubular housings, a gauge assemblycomprising an elongated member, a pair of flanges adjacent the ends ofsaid eiongated member, a finger gauge carried by said memberintermediate said flanges, said linger gauge having avnger adapted tocontact the bere oi a housing, means for positioning said gauge withinsaid housing bore, means for causing relative rotation between saidgauge and said housing, and means for peening the exterior of saidhousing.

6. In `an assembly for straightening tubular housings, a support, meansfor rotatably positioning said housing upon said support, an elongatedmember adapted to be positioned within said housing, said member havinga pair of flanges adapted to contact the interior walls of said housing,a finger gauge supported bysaid member intermediate said iianges, saidlinger gauge having a iinger adapted to contact the interior wall ofsaid housing, means for illuminating said gauge, said gauge beingpositioned for viewing from one end of said housing, means for causingrelative rotation between said housing and said gauge carrying member,and means for peening the exterior of said housing.

7. In an assembly for straightening tubular housings, a support, meansfor rotatably positioning said housing upon said support, an elongatedmember adapted to be positioned within said housing, said member havinga pair of flanges adapted to contact the interior walls of said housing,a iinger gauge supported by said member intermediate said flanges, saidnger gauge having a linger adapted to Contact the interior wall of saidhousing, means for illurniv hating said gauge, said gauge beingpositioned for viewing from one end of said housing, means for causingrelative rotation between said housing and said gauge carrying member,means for peening the exterior of said housing, and means operable fromthe exterior of said housing for moving said gauging finger from contactwith said housing wall during the operation of said peening means.

ARMAIS ARUIUNOFF.

